The present invention relates to beds having side rails. More particularly, the invention relates to an apparatus for bed side rails which prevents injuries to bed occupants by preventing them from placing their extremities between components of the bed rail.
Hospital type beds usually have provisions for vertically movable side rails. Such side rails provide for patient control while facilitating activities such as removing and replacing bed sheets and mattresses and moving patients. When the side rails are raised and set in their normal working position, the lowermost side rails of even the best beds are in a horizontal position at or just above the upper plane of the mattress.
It is well known that bed occupants or patients who are asleep, or who cannot control or do not realize the significance of their movements, often injure themselves when their appendages become lodged between components of the bed side rails, or more commonly between a bed side rail and mattress or mattress support. Various designs have been advanced to remove this source of patient injury.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,370,765 describes an envelope for a bed having side rails. The envelop comprises an envelope portion for enveloping a side rail running the length of the bed and a flap positionable between and attachable to a mattress and mattress support. The envelope portions are made of durable and washable meshed, netted or screen-like plastic or polymeric material such as nylon. The flap is made of washable cotton sheet or canvas material.
Another approach, represented by U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,545, employs a protective covering assembly comprised of pipe insulation cut and fitted around the side rail members and a protective cover portion for enveloping a side rail running the length of the bed. The protective cover is made of a plastic upholstery.
The patents mentioned above, as well as others disclose a variety of techniques and structures for preventing patient bed injuries. However, such techniques and structures are not suitable for many hospital type beds.
Modern hospital type beds generally allow adjustment of the mattress over a range of segmental elevational configurations. Movement of the mattress changes its position relative to the bed side rails. Additionally, the bed rails on many modern hospital type beds typically employ a number of independently positionable bed rail segments which are arrayed down each side of the bed. Movement of the mattress support changes the position of the bed rail segments relative to each other.